Solvent Reasons
by CatBru
Summary: Sometimes, it’s a little disturbing what you would do for your best friend. Or could possibly do. Oneshot, Heiji and Kazuha friendship


**Title:** Solvent Reasons  
**Author:** Catherine  
**Rating: **PG  
**Disclaimer:** If I owned Detective Conan, I wouldn't be broke right now and I'd be able to speak Japanese. However, I am, and I can't, so don't look at me! I just borrowed these guys and made them do my evil bidding.  
**Summary:** Sometimes, it's a little disturbing what you would do for your best friend. This is random and not very plot oriented. And possibly not very in character :D (By the way, I think I'd make a _terrible _saleswoman XD)  
**Author's Notes:** While I've writing fan fiction before, I've never written anything for this fandom. And it's been awhile. And I have no Beta. I'm surprised I posted this at all! XD Apologies if the characterizations are off, but this story has been flitting around inside my head for awhile now… Must obey the muse… O.O (Ooo and many thanks to Sel, who suggested the title after I asked her for one with only a brief summary on the story, and absolutely no clue what I was talking about…)

* * *

As all cases seemed to happen, this one had begun when two childhood friends were minding their own business on the way to the local shopping center. Kazuha had been fuming slightly, dragging the reluctant boy behind her - after all, he had _promised_ to go with her after making her wait several hours the other day while he'd been off on another case – while Heiji tried to keep up with the rampaging girl, if only to prevent his arm from being ripped clean from it's socket.

To make up for his not showing up, Kazuha had somehow wrestled out from him a promise that _today_ there would be nothing but him, her, and her pocket money. Which she had saved up for some time, apparently. (There has also been the comment about Heiji becoming her temporary pack mule, which left the young man knowing that his arms would be sore at the end of the day.)

The only thing that could save him from Certain Doom at that point would be…

From the house to their left, there was a loud scream.

Kazuha had tensed, trying to drag the young detective by the home even faster than before, nearly causing Heiji to trip over his own two feet. "She probably saw a roach, no need to worry," she'd said in a rush.

"_Someone call 110! There's been a murder!"_

And now, here they were, two hours later. It _seemed_ to everyone that the case had already been solved. There had been a dinner party with some of the victim's and her husbands friends. The suspects had been everyone, but the list had been quickly narrowed down to the husband and his best friend since they had both been in diapers. The young woman kept wringing her hands and biting her lip, not once making eye contact with the victim's husband.

Finally, the husband had admitted to killing his wife of five years after finding out that not only had she been cheating on him since before the engagement, but that his son was not in fact biologically _his_ and had been threatening to take him away after the divorce was settled, along with more that seventy-five percent of his assets, and child support, and alimony.

"Heiji."

Although perfectly viable, something didn't sit quite right with the detective. He couldn't quite put his finger on it, and brushed off Kazuha every time she tried to get his attention.

"Heiji," the girl persisted, and he turned further away from her, deep in thought.

The evidence all pointed to the husband.

There was no question of motive.

So what _was_ it that just didn't make it feel _right?_

"_Heiji!"_ Kazuha repeatedly jabbed him in the shoulder with her finger, _hard,_ until he let out an exasperated yell and turned around to greet her scowling face.

"_What?"_

"It wasn't the husband," she said simply, folding her arms in front of her in a knowing manner.

"I _know_ that, but all the evidence, then there's the motive! And he confessed to it! If he didn't do it, then why would he say he _did?_"

The girl snorted. "He's not the only with a motive here," she informed him smugly. "And he confessed so that the real criminal won't get in trouble."

Heiji blinked at that.

Seeing that he wasn't quite processing the important facts, Kazuha sighed. "Hypothetically speaking, say I get married."

Heiji's eye twitched as he nodded for her to continue.

"And everything seems to be all flowers and sunshine, until one day I call you out of the blue. For whatever reason, I haven't spoken to you in ages, but now I do and I tell you that things have _not_ been going that great. I tell you he's been cheating on me, treating me like dirt, maybe even hitting me," Kazuha continued to list off several different things (most of which were things that both of them knew that the young woman would never tolerate even _once,_ let alone on a continual basis) that her would-be husband was supposedly doing to her, not really paying attention to her childhood friend.

Who was, at this point, gritting his teeth and clenching his fists, ready to pound the life out of this made-up husband of hers. Finally, he snapped at her. "Alright, I _get_ it; your husband's _despicable,_ what's your _point?"_

"What would you do if you found out about all that?"

Heiji didn't even hesitate. "You kidding? I'd _kill_ the son of a…" he trailed off as his eyes turned to the young woman sitting across the room, looking ready to cry as Takagi placed handcuffs on her best friend's wrists. "Oh. But if she did it, why would he take the blame?"

Kazuha snorted. "Like I'd let you sit in jail for something you did because of me." She flicked a piece of flint from her skirt. "Anyway, I found out that that was why she was here when I talked to her earlier. He'd called her for the first time in years, even though they _live_ in the same city. Apparently Wifeykins had been a tad jealous of their friendship." She rolled her eyes, muttering. "Like I'd let that get in the way of a certain friendship…"

Heiji wasn't sure if she'd said that for him to hear or not, but he couldn't help but agree. As hard as he tried, he could not see himself cutting off all ties to someone he'd known for more than two-thirds of his life for anyone, not even a wife.

Sighing, he ran his hand through his hair. "But she didn't actually admit to doing it, did she?"

The brunette shook her head, ponytail flicking through the air. "Nope, but don't worry. She will."

As if on cue, the woman in question practically lunged herself at Takagi. "Stop!"

And of course, her best friend tried to stop her, but in the end the woman confessed.

Fifteen minutes later, the two teenagers were heading back in the direction of the shopping center. This time, Kazuha wasn't pulling his arm nearly off and Heiji wasn't protesting. Instead, they walked slowly, each mulling over the case.

Finally Heiji came to a stop on the sidewalk. "Kazuha?" he called out to her. He wasn't exactly sure he wanted to know the answer to the question he had, because he knew what his would be if she asked the same thing. And the thought of her doing something like that, for his sake, was a bit unsettling. Mostly for that fact that she would undoubtedly be caught and sent to jail, but also because, if she said she would, he knew he would feel a guilty sense of smug pride. "Would _you_ do something like that?"

Kazuha stopped in her tracks just as he finished the question, fists perched on her hips and a glare firmly in place. "Ahou," she scoffed before whapping him on the arm. "I would _never_ do something as stupid as _that_."

He nodded slightly before moving again, hands deep in his pockets. He knew it would be stupid, and foolish, and end everything that he had worked so hard to achieve in life, but he knew without a doubt that if someone who was supposed to be as important in her life as a husband ever did anything to hurt her in anyway, he was almost afraid of what he would do to the man. As annoying as he insisted – even to himself- that she was, she was too much apart of his life, and he'd do what he could to keep her in it.

Fortunately for him, though, he'd learned from his line of pro-bono work the art of hiding a-

"For starters, they'd never find the body…"

* * *

_Lesigh. Sadly, not the best thing I've ever written, but I'm a bit rusty after several months of not writing, and I'm not used to writing these characters. I probably should have written something for a fandom that I've written for before. I could find a Beta for that no problem! And then there's familiarity with the characters… But, oh well! We all got to start off somewhere, right? ;)_

_If you're wondering why almost everyone is nameless, I've always been bad at making up _English _names, let alone names for a different language. :P Many apologies for that!_

_So, if you have any gripes about the characterization or whatnot, feel free to let me know! If you don't, no problem. As a person who usually lurks, I completely understand ;)_

_(Note to self: Stop writing fic at 3am)_


End file.
